Did Madonna Really Block a K-Pop Group’s Video on YouTube?

YouTube presents plenty of copyright challenges for record labels, publishers and artists hoping to protect their content and clamp down on unofficial uploads of their material. (They also seem to be imposing some eyebrow-raising restrictions on LGBT vloggers as of late, but that's a whole other thing.)

Sometimes, even videos uploaded on official accounts catch a snag. And, in the latest instance of a video getting wrongly flagged for copyright, it's Queen of Pop Madonna — well, her publishing company anyway — who just incited a global scandal.

Over the weekend, fans noticed that K-pop troupe Secret's video for their song "Madonna" (found here), the No. 1-debuting 2010 title track from the group's second mini-album, is now blocked by Warner/Chapell, Madonna's publishing company from when she was signed to Warner Bros. Records. (Madonna switched over to Live Nation after releasing her final Warner album in 2009, Celebration.)

For those who haven't already heard the Secret song, "Madonna" is indeed a nod to the "Unapologetic Bitch" herself: "The song is about living with confidence by becoming an icon in this generation, like the American star Madonna," AllKPop reported at the time.

But unless Madonna herself was hungrily scanning old K-pop videos to find musical inspiration for her Rebel Heart follow-up (which she should be doing), stumbled upon the tribute track and felt an unholy (water) hydrangea-level rage, chances are the block was probably due to the fact that "Secret" also happens to be the name of M's 1994 No. 3 Bedtime Stories mega-hit, and the video was accidentally flagged in an automated round-up of non-official uploads bearing the same artist and track title.

Warner/Chappell even responded to the controversy on Twitter, claiming they had no idea it happened, further making a case that it was an unintentional infringement match.

"This is most likely a mistake, have already sent email to dept that handles this, should be corrected in next day or two," they wrote.

While we wait for this clear wrong to be righted, why not celebrate both acts? "Madonna" is a fierce, horn-heavy self-empowerment ode to the Material Girl — the catchiest since Robbie Williams' "She's Madonna." And as for Madge's "Secret"? One of her most overlooked hits from the '90s, to be sure. Watch both below.

In the end, there's really only one way to remedy this whole situation: collab, ladies!